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Author: Erin Rushing

Erin Clements Rushing is the Outreach Librarian for Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. She enjoys sharing the Libraries and Archives' treasures with new audiences and telling the stories from the stacks through various outreach efforts. She coordinates social media and the blog (Unbound), plans tours and manages the internship program. She also handles rights and reproductions for library collection images and acts as point person for copyright concerns. Erin holds an M.L.S from the University of Maryland, as well as a B.A. in History and Art History.

Honoring Our Veterans

Erin Rushing
November 11, 2013
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This post was written by Chris Cottrill, head of the National Air and Space Museum Library.

November 11, 2013.  Today is Veteran’s Day and a federal holiday.

For some of us that can mean a chance to sleep-in, run some errands, or have an extended weekend away.  But it’s also the one day we should recall those we know or knew that put on the uniform (enlisted or draftee) and served their country during times of peace or conflict. The Smithsonian Libraries would like to thank those staff members who put on the uniform and served.

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Aftermath of a Catastrophe: 3.11.2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami: an artist’s Soulful Heart

Erin Rushing
November 6, 2013
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Cover of "Aftermath of a Catastrophe".
Cover of “Aftermath of a Catastrophe”.

“This Art Book is dedicated to all the people who lost their lives on 3.11.2011”—Kumiko Shindō.

According to the official record of the Japanese Government 15,883 people died, 6,145 injured, and 2,656 are missing in twenty prefectures affected by 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

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Intern Devon Lemire helps advance our mission!

Erin Rushing
November 4, 2013
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Devon (right) with National Zoo staff and giant tortoise.
Devon (right) with National Zoo staff and giant tortoise.

This post was written Devon Lemire, an intern in the Alberta Smithsonian Internship Program. Thanks for joining us this summer, Devon!

My name is Devon Lemire, and this summer I interned with the Libraries’ Office of Advancement for three months. I’m from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (about a six hour drive north of the border with western Montana). I just graduated with my BA Honours in History from the University of Alberta in Edmonton this past spring and this fall I will be starting a Master’s degree in History, again at the University of Alberta. After that I plan on going to Library school!

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This Friday: Wikipedia Loves Libraries Editathon at the Smithsonian!

Erin Rushing
October 23, 2013
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Join us for a Wikipedia Loves Libraries Editathon at the Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery Library, focusing on American Artists at the World’s Columbian Exposition. This event will include new editor training, an afternoon Editathon, and an evening happy hour. No experience necessary–technical or subject!

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David Livingstone and the Other Slave Trade, Part II: The Arab Slave Trade

Erin Rushing
October 21, 2013
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This post is the second in a three post series by National Museum of African Art Library volunteer Judy Schaffer. If you missed the first installment, posted right before our shutdown-induced hiatus, check it out here.

“. . . this trade in Hell, this open sore of the world . . .”

David Livingstone’s first book, Missionary travels and researches in South Africa, published in 1857, was a huge success, not only because of the harrowing adventures it related but because it alerted the British public to the existence of the Arab slave trade flourishing along Africa’s east coast.  The book, along with Livingstone’s many lectures and letters, provoked a call for action once again, and finally, in 1873, a few weeks after Livingstone’s death, Parliament outlawed this trade, too (the West Coast trade had been outlawed in 1834).  The Royal Navy sent ships to Africa to enforce the ban.

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We’re back!

Erin Rushing
October 17, 2013
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The Smithsonian Libraries will be open today for the first time since October 1st. The Smithsonian museums will open today at their usual times and the National Zoo will reopen tomorrow. Please note that the Smithsonian Libraries’ Adopt a Book event, previously scheduled for October 17th, has been postponed. We will let you know when the even has been rescheduled.

Stay tuned next week for the continuation of our blog series on David Livingstone and the African slave trade.

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